Rail specialist Railcare plans to manufacture a zero-emission battery-powered MPV, Multi-Purpose Vehicle, which is a vehicle with a diverse range of applications for rail maintenance. The vehicle is self-propelled and equipped with vacuum pumps, hydraulics, and control cabins so that the vehicle can be used as a battery-powered addition to Railcare’s vacuum excavator, snow melter and as a towing vehicle, for example, ballast wagons during track work.
Railcare has collaborated with the mining equipment company Epiroc for the development of the world’s largest battery-powered rail vehicles. A prototype will be built and tested in 2019 in Railcare’s workshop in Skelleftehamn, Sweden, with estimated delivery in the second half of the year.
A few months ago, Epiroc launched several electrical versions of its mining vehicles. Epiroc’s expertise and development platform, as well as ABB’s and Northvolt’s market-leading battery technology, are important for Railcare’s work to get the world’s first – and largest – battery-powered version of vacuum technology on the railway track.
“We continue to have a high level of our innovations and are proud of the results in our collaboration with Epiroc,” said Daniel Öholm, CEO of Railcare Group AB. “We will use their scalable battery technology platform when we launch our first battery powered MPV. Many of our projects are for underground work, with a high demand for safety and the working environment, as well as high efficiency. We see great potential for emission-free vehicles in our existing markets and also opportunities to receive projects from new customer markets.”
“We are happy about this cooperation with Railcare as it is a natural step for Epiroc to collaborate around the technology that we have developed for our underground equipment,” said Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s Senior Executive Vice President Mining & Infrastructure. “Collaborating with forward-thinking companies around the battery technology is important to drive volume and reduce costs. This will speed up the electrification process.”
Vacuum technology was introduced in 1992 and today has a significant share of the Swedish and British market for ballast exchanges. Up until now, Railcare has manufactured more than fifty diesel-powered Railvac machines that are used to carry out various types of track maintenance on the railways, such as ballast exchange, sleeper exchange, drainage, and cable handling.
For further information contact:
Daniel Öholm, CEO
Telephone: +46 705 280 183
E-mail: daniel.oholm@railcare.se
Sofie Dåversjö, Communications Manager
Telephone: +46 725 280 009
E-mail: sofie.daversjo@railcare.se
Image: A sketch of the battery wagon that complements the traditionally diesel-powered versions of the railway specialist Railcare’s machines. Emission-free battery-powered vehicles improve the working environment and increase the potential for use in underground projects, for example in subways and mines. © 2019 Railcare Group AB
About Railcare Group
Rail specialist Railcare Group AB offers products and services that strengthen customer reliability, punctuality and profitability, mainly in the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. The rail industry is growing and developing well, with increasing traffic volumes and extensive investment programs, along with a rapid development of cost-effective freight and passenger transport and increasing environmental awareness. Railcare has unique opportunities to deliver efficient solutions that contribute to the railways increasing their share of the total transport market. Railcare Group AB (publ)’s share is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Small Cap since April 2018. The Group has approximately 130 employees and annual sales amounting to approximately 300 MSEK. The company’s registered office is in Skelleftehamn.
About Epiroc
Epiroc is a leading productivity partner for the mining and infrastructure industries. With pioneering technology, Epiroc develops and manufactures innovative drilling tools, rock breaking and plant equipment, and provides first-class service and consumables. The company is based in Stockholm, had revenues of SEK 38 billion in 2018, and has over 14,000 passionate employees who support and cooperate with customers in over 150 countries. For more information, www.epirocgroup.com.
